


Fall

by Ishti



Series: New Quest [4]
Category: Aveyond
Genre: Gen, Introspection, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-06 04:39:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13403640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ishti/pseuds/Ishti





	Fall

This temple, pristine and glittering, has always been his only home. His father raised him here, and when his father died, he raised himself.

That was his first mistake.

He could have listened to her, followed her example. No, not his mother, of course; no matter who else he's forgiven, no matter that, deep down, he's forgiven her as well, he will never want anything to do with that woman. Not her. _Her._

Maybe he could have opened his eyes sooner. Maybe he could have learned to mirror her view of the world. To be objective, stoic. Accepting.

If she ever tries to act as a mother to him, she has a funny way of showing it--but then, she has a funny way of showing everything.

But he can hear her voice echoing through the hall now and then... or perhaps just in his head, as she is wont to do. She likes to speak to him as he walks. Maybe... that's her way of showing it.

One way or another, he's comfortable here at last. He defeated the demons, he defeated _his_ demons, and he can wander down this beautiful, endless hall without fear or guilt. He'd love nothing more than to walk this way forever, down this patterned corridor, this knowable place. There is no carpet, no tapestry; this is a shrine, not a palace, and the bare floors, walls, and mirrors are meant to reflect the splendor of the sun. Intermittent pools line the space between the walkway and the walls, and to watch the sun glitter off the crystalline water is to see the form of the Goddess manifest.

He made peace with the Goddess, at the end of his journey. Through tears and begging and a self-hatred so thick he thought it might wrap around his throat and strangle him, he found his devotion in penance. He would protect Aia with the indomitability of a dragon until he breathes his last.

He will keep himself open. No more deception. He will wear his own face.

_The sun shines kindly on you._

He smiles and sighs deeply. "At long last."

_You did well last time. I'm intrigued to see what you will do this time._

He blanches, stops in his tracks.

_Do not stop. You know that rule. You've done this many times._

He feels like he'll vomit if he takes another step. He can't do this again. He _won't_ do this again.

_It is your fate, dear one._

The tears begin, forcefully, as they haven't for an immeasurable stretch of time. As ordered, he takes another pace forward, and then another, another towards the reiteration of his betrayal. He raises his eyes and sees the window.

He's been here before. A sob slips from his lips.

His temple, his beautiful, shining temple, ends with this wall of glass. Though the sun shines through every other window, the sky at the end of the hall is dark, fraught with sinister, low clouds. He treads slowly, knowing what he will see at the bottom: nothing; a long, treacherous void. The temple hall is raised high, high in the air, perhaps upon a great mountain--he doesn't know, and it doesn't much matter to him--and the ground below, if there is ground below, is invisible through the fog.

His hands shake, and his heart shakes.

"I don't want to do this," he chokes through the knot in his throat.

_You will rise again, as you always do. Don't fear the darkness or the ground._

"Please... please." He can only whisper. "I've found my peace. Don't make me fall again."

_I will be with you._

He looks through the window one more time, studying the emptiness. He presses his hands against it and takes a deep breath.

Then he hurls himself forward, shattering the glass, losing the marble under his feet, and plunges down into the chasm.


End file.
